Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

FOUR YEARS LATER

R iver turned off her torch and inspected her sculpture. The wolf's head was complete. She'd spent days trying to bend his spine right and make him as realistic as possible while he leapt off the rock. And now, with the head finished... she smiled. It was how she imagined her father's wolf.

River's phone rang, and she glanced at it.

Bianca.

She'd not seen her little sister in three months, which was about as long as she'd spent tied to her workshop sculpting.

"Hey, Sis."

Bianca squealed in delight, and River held the phone away from her ear. She spoke so fast that River fought to keep up. The only words River caught for sure were mating run, fated mate, ultra-sexy, and super-rich. The rest, River guessed.

It had been four years since the night when she'd been attacked and found out the truth. She'd heard about Omegas before. How special and unique they were, and how they were the only true mates of Lycan Alphas. And more than that, only a handful had been born in the last hundred years. Unfortunately, since Omegas were so rare and securely guarded by the Alphas who wanted them, little was known to shifters about them.

The night of the last mating run River had attended, the Alpha himself had taken River and put her in an apartment safehouse the pack owned in the nearest city. River hadn't known about the safe house until that night.

In fear the Lycan and the others he had brought would come back for her, every wolf at the mating run was ordered to scour the acreage between the pack village and the major surrounding cities, though they weren't told why. They marked every yard with their scents to try and mask River's. Strider had gotten her an apartment and signed her up for art school within a week. Then, he and Cherry had taken River to New York to start school the following month.

Her mom had burned all of River's belongings. And in the end, their house out of paranoia. She, Strider, and Bianca had moved into a new house several miles from the old one. Though River hadn't been there, she'd seen photos. It hadn't been as spacious as their home together, but Cherry and Strider had never been ones to prize material things– even though Strider had inherited money years earlier.

Bianca's rambling pulled River back to the present. She rubbed her forehead and switched her phone to the other hand.

"Bianca… Bianca… Bianca!"

Her sister stopped talking. "What?"

"I'm happy for you, sis. I am. Have Cherry and Strider met him yet?"

"No. I want you to meet him first."

A small surge of panic lit inside River. "But weren't they at the mating run?"

"Uh…" Bianca hesitated.

River scrunched up her face. "What did you do?"

"Nothing bad," she said. "A couple of the other unmated girls and I heard about a gathering up north, and we decided to check it out."

"Bianca!" River's heart raced.

Her wolf woke up and whined.

It's all right, girl. She's fine. We're fine.

"It's perfectly safe," said Bianca. "A dozen Alphas were there, and everything went perfectly."

River rubbed her head.

"So, will you?"

"Will I what?"

"Meet him. I need you on my side before I tell Mom and Dad. They won't be happy I went; you know how Cherry is. She's likely to rip Zeke a new one before she gets to know him."

"Zeke?"

"Yeah, that's his name. Please?" Bianca drew out the word like a pouting high schooler.

"B, I'm super busy. I have my show this weekend and-"

"I haven't seen you in months. Ever since you left… I… I need you. Please?" Bianca's voice cracked.

She'd seen little of her family since the move to the city. Cherry was always on alert for the possibility of Lycans finding River. So, she hadn't allowed River to visit home in four years. They'd come to the city every six months since she'd moved and for her graduation from art school. Other than that, she'd been alone in the city.

A war had started amongst the Lycans in the last years since she'd been bitten. They'd divided for the first time in hundreds of years. Lycans had recruited the strongest werewolves from the States to join their ranks, turning them into Lycan hybrids. They weren't true Lycans, but they inherited the Lycan strength, speed, and agility. There was a lot they still didn't know about the new Lycan hybrids. One thing had been for certain, though: hybrids were not attracted to Omegas the way Alphas and Lycans were, which was why, after recruiting the new hybrids, the first thing they'd been sent to do was search for Omegas— causing Cherry to double her efforts to keep River's identity secret.

Word had gotten out about River somehow, and the search had begun. Which was the only reason she'd continued to take the suppression pills and desensitizing spray her mom had forced her to take since turning twelve.

"River, you aren't listening, are you?"

River sucked in a breath.

"We won't come to you. We can meet somewhere you choose. Somewhere safe. And I'll make sure to do all the protocols afterward. I'll take everything off when I'm back at my hotel. I'll wash it all in the special soap. I'll take a shower and everything. And since I'm staying in a hotel, they'll bleach the hell out of all my sheets, towels, and everything. If I have to, I'll spray myself with the scent-neutralizer stuff."

"And what about your new mate? What are you going to tell him about all your weird protocols?"

"Nothing. We aren't fully bonded yet, and until we are, I won't tell him anything about you."

Bianca didn't know the full extent of River's status. She knew River had been attacked and marked by a rogue without consent and that she'd left for her safety. The only people who knew her identity as an Omega were Cherry, Strider, her pack leaders, and their mates who had witnessed the attack. And, of course, the asshole who had bitten her. His penetrating eyes invaded her mind.

"Don't. Please." His voice echoed in her head.

River had never once regretted rejecting him. But ever since he'd woken up her wolf, her wolf had become increasingly agitated with River's lack of desire to find an Alpha to mate.

Damn. River could use a break, and she did miss Bianca. Going to school and getting a job at a prestigious art gallery had been a dream for River, but she'd never felt so utterly alone before. Even the occasional comfort of her wolf hadn't been enough to replace her pack.

"When are you going to try to move forward?" Bianca asked in a small voice. "It's been four years."

River never talked to Bianca about what had happened. Hell, she'd never spoken to anyone about it except Cherry and Strider. But that had only been because they needed to tell her the truth.

"Hello? River, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"Yeah." She shook her head to clear her thoughts. "B, it would take me forever to get ready. By the time I finished and got to dinner, it would be so late-"

"I don't care. Zeke won't either. I just want you to meet him. We'll take you somewhere nice. Super nice. Quadruple nice. Thousand-dollar bottle of champagne nice. And we'll pay for everything, and it'll be-"

"Nice?" River blurted. "Okay. Okay. I'll go."

"Wahoo! You go take a shower, and I'll set up everything."

"Setup?" River's stomach plummeted to her toes.

"Yeah. I'll be there in twenty minutes. I'm a few miles away. Love ya, Sis."

Before River replied, Bianca hung up.

"Shit." Not good.

River groaned and hung up. She ran her hand over the smooth metal and smiled. Hell knew she needed a good… time. She'd never been the one-night stand type, but even her favorite personal toy in her nightstand had burned out from overuse. She took the wolfsbane extract to keep her heats at bay like Cherry had taught her, but they'd never again gone away completely since being bitten by the rogue.

She'd done a ton of research in the last four years. The best advice she'd found was that when her heat cycle hit, she should take cool baths, use ice packs, and see how fast she could wear out the batteries in her little gang of vibrators. Her previous heat cycle had lasted five days, and she'd gone through a hundred dollars' worth of toys and three hundred dollars' worth of batteries. She couldn't imagine what a real heat cycle would be like. Oh wait, yes, she could; the memory of her first cycle burned into her skull and was one of the things that kept her remembering to take her suppressors and scent-blocking spray.

River peeled off her gloves and apron and trudged to the spray nozzle hanging in the corner. Bianca was right. She deserved a night off. She'd been working so much she'd barely had time to sleep over the past month.

She removed her overalls and stepped under the chilly spray. It pelted her skin like tiny missiles and made her nipples pucker. The urge to go up to her loft and take a proper shower trickled over her, but as the water went from warm to hot, the idea of running across her workshop naked and freezing was not half as appealing.

River leaned against the cement wall, letting her head fall beneath the spray. Damn, that felt amazing. She hadn't realized how tense her muscles had gotten until they started relaxing. How many hours had she been in the shop? Eight? Ten? Nope. Fourteen. She'd been working for fourteen hours. No wonder she ached all over.

Her mind wandered to places she didn't want it to go, but as she fought against the lull of sleep, she couldn't stop the memories from flooding back.

"Mom, it hurts so bad." River quaked in her bed as Cherry paced back and forth.

"Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit."

River's body trembled as another cramp ripped through her and shot straight to her core. She was dying. Why wasn't her mom doing anything? Did she want her to die?

River whimpered.

Cherry sprayed another round of air freshener and checked to ensure the window remained shut and locked and that the towels she'd shoved into the cracks hadn't moved.

River cried out as another wave of sharp pains shot through her.

Cherry sat on the side of River's bed and patted her leg. "It's gonna be okay, River. I'm gonna take care of everything."

The hell she was. So far, her mom had stunk up the room like flowers and made sure no one else knew she was dying.

"Do you hate me this much?" River barely got the words out without vomiting due to the overwhelming sweet floral scent.

Cherry didn't answer right away. "I… I don't hate you, River. I'm trying to help you, I promise. You don't understand right now-"

"If you wanted to help me, you'd take me to the pack doctor. Dad would do it. Dad would take me." River said accusingly.

Cherry opened and closed her mouth several times and turned away.

River stared at her mom through burning eyes so dry she feared they'd crack.

Cherry brushed her hand across her face and stood again. A soft knock on the door pulled Cherry's attention, and she ran to it.

"Yeah?"

"It's me," came a muffled voice from the other side.

"Did you find it?" The frenzy in her mother's voice was something River hadn't heard before. Her mom was the cool one. The strong one. The non-emotional one. Cherry was your girl if you needed something done or someone smacked into line.

"Yes," came the reply.

Cherry moved the towel out from under the door and kicked aside the blanket she'd stapled around River's door before unlocking and opening it no more than a crack.

An arm shot through the door holding several items River couldn't make out, and then the door shut.

"River?" came the small, scared voice of her little sister Bianca through the door. "I want River."

Her stepfather Strider must have said something to Bianca because she began to cry and bang on the door.

"Something's wrong with her. I can smell it. Mama Cherry let me in," Bianca cried.

Strider said something else in a low voice, and Bianca's small hand stopped banging on the door. Her sobbing lessened as Strider moved her away from the room.

River willed Bianca to run. To go to their Alpha or a Beta or anyone to get her help, but it wouldn't happen. Bianca would never go against what her father said. As much as her little sister loved her, she loved her dad more.

Cherry approached the bed as another round of cramps ripped through River. Cherry brought over the dark amber bottle Strider had given her and opened it.

"You need to drink this."

Die. She wanted to die. River groaned as Cherry pressed the bottle toward her lips.

River twisted away as her stomach roiled.

"Stop. You need to drink this, River. You have to. Please."

River peered at her mom through bleary eyes. She'd never once heard her mom say please for anything.

"I promise I'm trying to help." Cherry's voice shook.

River sat against her pillow, her body slick with sweat and her sheets so soaked that she feared she might slide right off the bed.

She'd never been sick a day in her life; shifters rarely if ever, got sick. But this…

River opened her mouth, and Cherry poured the liquid into it. River gagged at the bitter taste and almost spit it out, but Cherry shut her lips. The liquid burned, and River shook her head.

"Swallow it, River," her mom commanded.

Poison. Cherry was trying to poison her.

River fought against her mom, but Cherry was strong— the strongest female River had ever known. Even so, Cherry seemed to have trouble keeping River from overpowering her.

"Dammit, River, I'm trying to help you. Swallow the fucking liquid."

River didn't stop fighting, so Cherry jumped on her, pinned her down with her legs, and held River's nose.

Dead. Cherry wanted her dead.

Another wave of sharp pains shot through River's core, and she swallowed the liquid as the lack of oxygen made her head fuzz over.

River waited for the searing pain to shoot through her again, but like a wave crashing on the rocks, the pain dissipated, and the sharpness lost its edge. Within a minute, the burning in her mouth subsided, and her throat numbed.

Cherry released her, and River gulped in the air. Cherry watched her for several seconds, breathing heavily.

"I told you I wasn't trying to hurt you."

River touched the inside of her mouth with her tongue. It felt coated and strange.

"You need to take the rest." Cherry shoved the bottle at River.

River lifted a shaky hand, and another wave of pain built in her core, but not as intense as previously.

River closed her eyes and chugged the rest of the bottle, forcing herself to swallow it.

Again, the pain crested and dissipated but nowhere near as painful as it had been.

Cherry kept her eyes on River. River sucked in several breaths and fell against her pillow.

Her body felt like she'd sprinted the whole pack woods for hours without stopping.

She handed the empty bottle back to Cherry, and her body went limp. Sleep. She needed sleep.

Cherry touched River's forehead and then stood. She walked to River's dresser and picked up a set of sheets and several blankets. She brought them back and sat them on the floor before pulling out a bottle and syringe.

The clear liquid filled the syringe, and Cherry approached her and rolled River's soaked T-shirt sleeve up.

She plunged the needle into River's arm, but compared to what River had been through, it felt like no more than a bee sting.

River's eyelids grew heavy as her body relaxed further.

Cherry brushed her lips across River's hair as sleep pulled River further into unconsciousness.

"Sleep now, River. Mommy is going to take care of everything. I promise."

"River? River!"

River opened her eyes with a start. Cool water pelted her skin. Crap, how long had she been under the spray?

"River?"

She turned to find Bianca standing in her workshop, holding a black bag.

"Are you okay?"

River nodded and turned off the water.

"Sorry," said River. "I didn't hear you come in."

Bianca tossed her towel at her. "We have reservations in thirty minutes. We need to hurry."

River nodded and toweled off. Her stomach grumbled.

"Oh, girl, you are all skin and bones. Have you eaten this month?" Bianca asked behind her.

River located underwear and pulled them on before turning toward her sister. "Is that supposed to make me feel better or make you feel better about yourself?"

Bianca laughed and shrugged. "Both."

Bianca had always had a sexy hourglass figure. Like she'd lived in a waist cincher for years. But nope. Those were Bianca's natural assets. River, on the other hand, was petite and slenderer like her mom. But that didn't mean a damn thing she'd learned early on. She may be little and thin, but she sure packed a punch. Or a kick. And with knives, she was deadly.

Bianca tossed River a bra and marched up to River's loft. "Come on. We don't have much time, and I have a lot to accomplish."

River groaned and shook her head. Maybe she shouldn't have said yes to Bianca.

Bianca held up the huge cup she'd been hiding behind her back. "Come on, Miss Grumpy. I brought your favorite."

River couldn't help but smile.

Bianca shook the cup. "I'll let you have it like a good girl if you let me do your hair."

River shook her head and followed her sister. She had to fix her addiction to caffeine and sugar. It was sad that with a massive cola, she could be talked into doing about anything.

After being curled, sprayed, mascaraed, and lipsticked, Bianca produced a dress from the black bag, and that's when River knew her sister had lost her ever-loving mind.

"There is no way I am wearing that," she laughed.

Bianca looked at the dress and back at River. "It's designer, and I got it for fifty percent off."

"How about I give you the other fifty percent, and you get me a whole dress?"

Bianca pouted. "You are going to be amazing in it. I got it for you. Please? Please? Please? Please?"

River took the long red dress cut low in the front. The slits in the legs almost met the v-neckline. She turned it around to find the back cut equally as low.

Of course.

"So, how am I supposed to keep this thing on my body?" she asked.

Bianca held up a small box of scotch tape.

River stared at the dress again and shook her head. Oh, what the hell?